Tintic, Mammoth Mine

Index For This Page

This page was last updated on November 12, 2025.

Overview

(The focus of this page is the surface workings of the Mammoth mine, as visible in photographs, as well as a general description of the mine, with minimal coverage of the geology and financial returns. Also to establish a timeline using sources not previously readily available.)

The Mammoth mine was organized in February 1870 by a group of miners that included Charles Crismon. Supposedly one of that original group of prospectors stated "Boys, she's a mammoth strike! We've got ourselves a mammoth mine." Within a couple years Crismon became the majority owner and in 1873, he exchanged his interest in the mine to Samuel and William McIntyre for cattle that the McIntyre brothers had herded into the Tintic Valley from Texas. One of the first mills in the district, and later a small smelter, was built in 1873 by the Crismon-Mammoth Company out in the valley near the McIntyre's Tintic Ranch, seven miles southwest of the Mammoth mine. The Crismon mill soon became known simply as the "Tintic Mill". The location was chosen to put the mill on land already owned by the McIntyres, and to allow the mill to be near a good source of water. Fuel was another matter, and its high cost would soon be a deciding factor in the mill's closure.

(It was George Crismon who was associated with the Mammoth mine. His brother, Charles Crismon, was also associated with the Mammoth. Charles Crismon Jr., was superintendent of the Swansea mine near Silver City, and both George and Charles Sr. were owners of the Eureka Hill property. When the coal mines in Chalk Creek above Coalville in Summit County in early 1874, George Crismon was involved and, through his Crismon Coal company, furnished coal to the Salt Lake City market. By 1880, Charles Crismon was a resident of Coalville, then moving by May 1880 to Maricopa County, Arizona, on the Salt River. By 1880, George Crismon was still a resident of Salt Lake City, and was the Salt Lake County Tax Assessor and Collector.)

The Mammoth mine is at the head of Mammoth Hollow, also called Mammoth Basin. In 1898, it had been productive from the first, the location having been made on a large, irregular, elliptical-shaped body of ore, which bas been followed continuously from the surface to the bottom of the mine, a vertical distance of 1,600 feet.

The owners of the Mammoth mine were using freight wagons to get the ore down from their mine to the company's new mill, a distance of two miles as the crow flies. The steady stream of wagons moving along the steep road between the mine at Upper Mammoth, and the new mill at Robinson (Mammoth Station on the railroads), was a cost that the company wanted to avoid. To reduce its costs, the company approached the railroads about building a branch to the mine. Although the Mammoth mine's prospects were bright, both railroads hesitated at building such a steep and difficult line, saying that the mining company would have to pay a large share of the added costs for such a difficult line. To avoid these costs, in January 1894, the mine owners (the McIntyre brothers) organized the East Tintic Railway to build a 2-1/2 mile railroad between a connection with the joint trackage at Mammoth (Robinson), where their mill was, and the mine at the top of Mammoth Hollow. The plans for the new railroad laid dormant after other mining companies along the proposed route expressed an interest in using the new line to haul their ores to the OSL&UN line for eventual movement of their own ores to the Salt Lake Valley smelters. These other mining companies were each located in the upper reaches of Mammoth Hollow, and each had its own mill.

June 3, 1877
The following description of the Crismon Mammoth mine comes from the Salt Lake Tribune, June 3, 1877.

The Crismon Mammoth is situated on the great Mammoth vein just north of the Copperopolis, and is a property which some day will attract the eyes of the whole world on account of the immense bodies of rich gold, silver and copper ores. The property was discovered shortly after the Copperopolis was struck, by a party of Mormon boys from Payson, who sold it to the Crismon brothers for a trifle. The new owners commenced developments and soon paid for the mine out of the proceeds realized from their shipments of rich copper ore.

At the time, 1872, ore which was worth less that $100 per ton would hardly pay to ship, and as only small pockets of high grade silver ore had then been discovered, the mine was prospected for copper exclusively. It was known that the vein matter in which the copper was found would assay all the way from $15 to $50 per ton, but there was no market for it, so it was regarded as waste and thrown over the dump, together with all the low grade copper ores, are used to fill up the old stopes in the mine. Matters went on in this manner for a time, when it was considered advisable to sell out, and the mine was offered in San Francisco, but on examination by an expert from the coast, it was found, in his examination, to fall far short of what Carter & Wilson, who were negotiating the sale, had represented.

After this the owners pushed a tunnel into the hill and about 200 feet below the upper working, struck the first vein of ore, running north and south some twelve feet thick. The tunnel was run through solid lime rock, and the first vein struck, as indeed do all the veins in the mine, squarely out the formation and lay between two perfect walls. When the copper in this vein had been stoped out, the main tunnel was driven into the east foot wall, but why nobody quite knows, because the mine was worked without surveys.

The extension of the tunnel, some sixty feet through solid lime rock, brought them to the second vein, the largest yet discovered in the mine. Its thickness, as far as developed by levels, cross-cuts and shafts, shows it to vary from twenty to sixty feet, carrying high and low grade copper and silver ores. A north drift has been pushed in on this vein, hugging the foot wall, a distance of 160 feet, all the way in ore. In this drift, some fifty feet distant from the main tunnel, a shaft 250 feet deep, has been sunk on the vein, with cross-cuts between the walls showing the ore body to be in one place, over sixty feet thick. In this shaft rich gold ore has been struck, believed to be a continuation of the streak discovered in the workings above, but new work in it has been suspended, owing to the presence of bad air. The third vein was reached by pushing the main tunnel eastward, through the solid lime rock again about thirty feet. Comparatively little development has been made in this ore body, though a rich streak of chloride silver ore is being followed in its windings in the vein.

A contract was let to some parties to drive the tunnel forward from this point, another hundred feet eastward, but they were not watched, and having hit upon a streak of soft lime rock, they drove the tunnel in a semicircle to the northward and found nothing. The upper and lower workings are connected by stopes on the middle or larger vein. It is very difficult to tell anything about the upper works.

From the point where the visitor first reaches the ore body by the upper tunnel, he is taken through a labyrinth of drifts, shafts, stopes and chambers, which were worked without system and without regard to permanency. The whole mountain here seems to stand on pillars of ore which was found to be too low grade to be removed. No timbers at all are used, though the hill is honeycombed, and is still yielding from this part of the mine twelve tons of ore daily. Those gooberings are the result of a hot pursuit after rich copper ore when the price was up. Thus no regard was paid to the surrounding material, it was copper, copper, copper! A large quantity of rich gold ore, which was regarded as having too little copper to save, was used as "waste" and an old stope was filled up with it. Since that time the value of the "waste" has been discovered, and it is now being removed, carefully sacked and sent to the company's mill. How this "waste" turns out may be gleaned from the gold bullion reports for the past month.

Instead of the Crismon Mammoth appearing like a series of veins in the lime rock, it appears like a series lime rocks in a vein. But the mine has been worked in such a manner that there is danger of the hill dropping in almost at any time. Old miners can hardly be seduced to work in it. We understand, however, that the company have contracted for a considerable quantity of timber, and the work of putting it in will soon be commenced. In the hands of a San Francisco company, and an expenditure of $100,000 in improvements, would make it a leading property to Utah. Mr. Charles Crismon says he could work 200 men in the mine constantly and produce a ton of ore to the man after getting the mine in shape. At present the company are working twenty-three men, and are taking out thirteen tons of ore per day, eight of which, high grade silver, are sent to Col. Locke's mill and five tons of gold ore to the company's own works.

The mine and tunnel are patented. The yield for the best month has been 500 tons of silver and gold ore, the silver averaging $65 and the gold $300 per ton. Sixty tons of ore on the dump. Since our last report 150 feet of work has been done on the various drifts and cross-cuts. No copper ore of consequence is being taken out.

The following about Samuel McIntyre comes from "Pioneers and Prominent Men," published in 1913.

McIntyre, Samuel (son of William McIntyre and Margret Anglin of Texas). Born Dec. 16, 1844, in Texas. Came to Utah 1853, Captain Daily company.

Married Mary Alexander July 4. 1872, St. Louis, Mo. (daughter of Robert Alexander and Mary Melvin of St. Louis, who came to Utah 1872). Their children: Samuel G.; Frank; Lapnre, m. Stella Switz; Stella, m. Capt. R. H. Allen; Earl; Roy. Family home. Salt Lake City.

Stockraiser. With brother William he is owner of the Horn Silver mine.

The following about William McIntyre comes from "Pioneers and Prominent Men," published in 1913.

McIntyre, William Howell (son of William McIntyre and Margret Anglin of Grimes county, near Anderson City, Texas). Born March 19, 1843, in Grimes Co., Texas. Came to Utah 1853 with his mother.

Married Phoebe Ogden Chase July 10, 1878, Salt Lake City (daughter of George O. Chase and Emily Marinda Hyde). Their children: June M. b. June 23, 1881, m. Frederick Carl Pern; Elizabeth G. b. Dec. 28. 1883. m. Arthur G. Hertzler; William Howell b. Jan. 2, 1887; Robert Bradford b. March 2, 1891; Margaret Anglin b. Aug. 11, 1894; Marion b. Nov. 19, 1898.

Director Z. C. M. I. and Deseret National bank. Owner and builder of the McIntyre building; owner McIntyre ranch of sixty-four thousand acres, Alberta, Canada. Engaged in cattle business. Freighter between Blackfoot, Idaho, and California: furnished the U. S. government, at Ft. Douglas, Utah, with supplies. Went to Texas 1869, returning to South Tintic, Utah, the next year with 1,000 cattle. In 1872 brought 2,000 cattle to Utah from Fort Hayes, Kan., and has followed the cattle and land business ever since. In 1875 he and his brother Samuel bought an interest in the Mammoth mine, Tintic, Utah, and gained control of the mine 1879, owning it until 1901. This mine produced about two million dollars.

The town of Mammoth was located at the lower end of Mammoth Hollow, with the mine itself being at the top of the Hollow. The town of Mammoth was incorporated in 1910, but due to shrinking population, was disincorporated in 1929.

Mammoth Mine

(The Mammoth mine was separate from the Mammoth Copperopolis, later Ajax, mine.)

(Read more about the Mammoth Copperopolis mine, as the southern extension of the Mammoth Lode; first worked in September 1871, and known as the Ajax mine after 1894, then the Gold Chain mine after 1909.)

September 3, 1870
"Mr. Meader, in connection with other parties, has leased the Mammoth mine from Maj. Harmon & Co. for five years, paying a certain per cent of the net profits. They will build furnaces. Chas. Crismon, Jr., & Co. are taking out paying ores from the Mammoth. Capt. Geo. Chisholm is doing so likewise, and selling at the dump." (Salt Lake Weekly Tribune, September 3, 1870)

November 1871
The Mammoth Lode was being worked by "Mr. Chrissman" (sic: Crismon) on the north and Mr. Armstrong on the south. The Armstrong tunnel was known as the Copperopolis of Utah. (Salt Lake Daily Review, November 1, 1871)

February 9, 1872
"Notice is hereby given, that Thomas Jenkins, H. P. Kimball, Charles Crismon, George Crismon, and Charles Crismon, Jr., do claim 3000 feet by 200 feet on the northern extension of the Mammoth Lode (being a copper and silver bearing vein of rock in place), and the land and premises appertaining to said mine, all situated in the Tintic mining district, county of Juab and Territory of Utah." Containing 13.77 acres. Dated February 9, 1872. Filed with the U. S. Land Office in Salt Lake City on February 15, 1872. (Salt Lake Weekly Tribune, March 23, 1872)

January 25, 1873
"Crisman, Jenkins & Co.'s Mammoth Mine -- Started up to-day with thirty good, practical miners. This is a well developed claim and is supposed to have been sold for 'big money' to an English company." (Salt Lake Weekly Tribune, January 25, 1873)

March 15, 1873
"There is no Copperopolis mine - but a Mammoth Copperopolis, and Crismon's Mammoth. These mines are raising almost fabulous quantities of ore, rich in gold, silver and copper. The latter is now on the English market, and experts say that it is well worth the $600,000 the company ask for it." (Salt Lake Weekly Tribune, March 15, 1873)

September 6, 1873
"The Crismon Mammoth mine had its tunnel in four hundred and twenty feet, and it was reported that a vein forty feet in width had been struck." (Utah Mining Gazette, September 6, 1873)

December 22, 1873
"The Crismon and Mammoth mine has only four hands at work, and in all probability will be all the men engaged until next spring." (Deseret News, December 22, 1873)

January 10, 1874
"The Mammoth Copperopolis, and Crismon Mammoth, are still yielding ore in large quantities; it is remarkable how this mine 'holds her own,' and lucky are the stockholders of both companies." (Utah Mining Gazette, January 10, 1874)

August 22, 1874
"North on the same [Mammoth Copperopolis] vein is the Crismon Mammoth, opened by shafts and tunnels. At one place the vein is forty-three feet in width, the ores of the same character as the Mammoth. One selected assay gave $42,000 in gold. It is owned by Crismon Bros." (Utah Mining Gazette, August 22, 1874)

February 3, 1883
"The Mammoth Mine. -- We are desired by Mr. Butler Johnstone to state that he is the representative of the new purchasers of the Mammoth Mine. The vendors, who are represented by Mr. J. A. Cunningham, and Messrs. Samuel and William McIntyre, of this city, have a contract with Mr. W. H. H. Bowers, who in his turn has surrendered a large portion of his interest to Mr. Butler Johnstone and his friends, retaining only a portion of his contingent interest in the property. We further understand, that although it is only stipulated in the contract that a small portion of the purchase money is to be paid to the vendors monthly, it is the intention of the purchasers to pay the whole purchase money in the spring, and to stock the mine in the London Stock Exchange. Mr. W. H. H. Bowers, who by his contract with the vendors bound himself to run the business in his own name and at his own expense, has surrendered this power to Mr. Butler Johnstone, who has voluntarily undertaken to pay the debts legitimately incurred in the business, since Mr. Bowers' original contract and assumed on himself the whole responsibility for all future debts incurred in the management of this property." (Salt Lake Herald, February 3, 1883)

January 18, 1918
Again, the Mammoth people threatened to build an aerial tramway to move their ore from their mine down to the Rio Grande. This was due to the high rates being charged by the Salt Lake Route railroad on its New East Tintic railroad between the Mammoth mine and mill. The aerial tramway would be about one mile long and would avoid any tie-up due to weather during the winter. A similar tramway was in operation at the nearby Grand Central mine and has saved many thousands of dollars every year. (Eureka Reporter, January 18, 1918)

(This threat of building an aerial tramway was a regular thing for the Mammoth mine owners, but they never took action. The threats were most likely a negotiating tactic to improve the rates being charged by the railroad.)

May 23, 1958
The last reported shipment from the Mammoth mine was in May 1958 when the mine shipped 120 tons. (Eureka Reporter, May 23, 1958)

Mammoth After 1980

(The last reference to the Mammoth Mining company was in October 1986.)

In 1993 and 1994, Centurion Mines Corporation purchased the mineral lands and the controlling interest in the Mammoth Mining company, the Godiva Mining comapny and the Grand Central Mining company. Centurion had grand plans to reactive each of these mines and return Tintic to its former glory. Nothing ever came of these plans. Ther were joint ventures with Kennecott and BHP Minerals, but only for exploratory drilling over and above the very limited drilling done by Centurion itself. In both cases, Kennec and BHP backed out of their respective joint ventures after a year of drilling without any results.

Mammoth Mill

The Mammoth mine operated its own concentrating, or reduction mill from 1894 to 1904. The Mammoth mill was located on the south side of the mouth of Mammoth Hollow.

(Read more about the Mammoth Mill)

More Information

New East Tintic Railway -- Built by the Mammoth Mining company to haul their ore from the mine down to the town of Mammoth, and interchange with Union Pacific's Oregon Short Line subsidiary.

Railroads and Mining at Tintic -- A history of railroads and mining in the Tintic Mining District (Updated and expanded from an article in The Streamliner, published by the Union Pacific Historical Society)

###